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Hi! I'm so happy to be able to participate on the Roald Dahl 100 Celebratory blog tour. Growing up, I have fond memories of watching the movie but not having read the book. Therefore, I was so excited to be able to read and do a feature discussing both the book and movie!

When James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree, strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. When James discovers a secret entranceway into the fruit and crawls inside, he meets wonderful new friends--the Old-Green-Grasshopper, the dainty Ladybug, and the Centipede of the multiple boots. After years of feeling like an outsider in his aunts' house, James finally found a place where he belongs. With a snip of the stem, the peach household starts rolling away--and the adventure begins! Roald Dahl's first and most widely celebrated book for young people continues to thrill readers around the world.

Roald Dahl's writing style is extremely unique, something I faintly remember from having read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child. The storyline is definitely an insanely creative one, and certain aspects didn't come across quite as creepy as they did in the movie lol. The idea of James escaping his evil aunts to the peach where he befriends insects was in my opinion, a unique twist on a Cinderella story in the comparison to Cinderella's relationship to her stepmother. The ending of James and the Giant Peach (the movie) was definitely quite a bit more intense than I remembered. Not to be spoilerly for those who haven't seen it, but it's a bit cruel for a normal kid's movie lol. The difference between the reality and clay version of Charlie in the peach was also an interesting touch. Both the book and movie are excellent and Roald Dahl's writing style is so unique!

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to feature a playlist from Dawn Ius, the author of Overdrive, today. Here's the playlist and then a little more about the book and author:

Playlist

5-10 songs that remind you of the book, a scene and/or character(s)

While writing OVERDRIVE, I cranked up a long list of fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping tunes, many of which are likely familiar as they’ve been featured on the kinds of movies that inspired the book—Gone in 60 Seconds, Fast & The Furious, Oceans 11, etc., plus there are some throwbacks to a few of my favorite movies, like Lost Boys and The Terminator. (Kyle Reece is still one of my favorite movie boyfriends…)

Perhaps the biggest challenge was culling the list to 10 for your blog ;-) Here goes:

Testarossa Autodrive

https://youtu.be/ErQNRwH-Hmk?list=PLriYE9INvlUQTWPFIhC4Aa9LYKNoFNvTK

The energy of this beat really got my adrenaline pumping for writing the chase scenes. And I guess there are a few of those scenes…;-)

Pedal to the Metal - Kazzer

https://youtu.be/STy1UL49FZM

Another heist scene favorite, and the first song that made my own driving playlist when I bought my 2009 RX-8 after selling my debut, Anne & Henry.

Drive It Like You Stole It - Glitch Mob

https://youtu.be/kON_KRmFRKk

This song was on repeat for the opening scene, which was probably one of the most fun scenes I have ever written.

Nightcall - Kavinsky

https://youtu.be/MV_3Dpw-BRY

The perfect tune to play during one of the night heists—there’s something so hypnotizing about the beat and Kavinsky’s voice. Plus, I love the movie in which it’s featured—Drive. (Ryan Gosling!)

Alive - SIA

https://youtu.be/t2NgsJrrAyM

I can’t even narrow down when this track was played—perhaps in almost every scene. Sia has such a powerful voice, and this song is so emotional it forced me to go deeper into my characters’ emotions.

Boost Me - Gone in 60 Seconds Soundtrack

https://youtu.be/CbZWG0to0Jw

Self-explanatory? So many songs from the Gone in 60 Seconds soundtrack could have made the cut. I love this one a lot.

Terminator (Theme Song)

https://youtu.be/68I3j2luW64

Such a great mood setting song—and from the soundtrack of a classic movie. I love the way it builds suspense, and I listened to it on repeat while writing some of the more tense scenes.

Pistols at Dawn - Senabo Sey

https://youtu.be/KovrJ8HXI1Q

Slowing it down for a particular scene, of which cannot be named because…spoiler ;-)

Cry Little Sister - G Tom Mac

https://youtu.be/TuxdjVI-5r0

This song has always been so haunting to me, and I played it often while writing some of the more ominous scenes.

On the Other Side - Jessica Bell

https://youtu.be/73Ahs1gPoQ0

Written and performed by my dear friend, Jessica Bell, this song wound its way into several scenes—her voice is so beautiful and moving. And this video! Wow!

Jules Parish has screwed up.

After three years of boosting cars, she got caught. She's too good to get caught, but she let her (ex)-boyfriend talk her into a questionable job. And now, she and her little sister, Emma, will be kicked out of their foster home, left to survive on the unforgiving streets of Las Vegas alone.

Unless.

Eccentric, wealthy Roger Montgomery wants to open up his mansion to Jules and Emma. The only catch? Jules must steal seven of the rarest, most valuable muscle cars in the world—in seven weeks. Even worse, she’s forced to put her trust in three complete strangers to help her do it.

First there’s Chelsea, the gorgeous redhead with a sharp tongue and love for picking locks. Then there’s Mat, who hasn’t met a system he couldn’t hack. And finally there’s the impossibly sexy car thief Nick, whose bad attitude and mysterious past drive Jules crazy.

With nothing in common and everything to lose, can Jules and her amateur crew pull off what could be the biggest car heist in history? Or will things spin out of control faster than a Nevada dust devil?

DAWN IUS is a short-story author, novelist, screenwriter, professional editor, and communications specialist. She is the Managing Editor of the International Thriller Writers Association’s monthly magazine, THE BIG THRILL, co-founder and senior editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal, Development Editor and Marketing Manager for Vine Leaves Press, and the author of 11 educational graphic novels published by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. When she’s not slaying fictional monsters, she’s geeking out over fairy tales, Jack Bauer, Halloween, muscle cars, and all things that go bump in the night. Dawn lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband, Jeff, and their giant English Mastiff, Roarke.

The seventh intoxicating love story by Anita Hughes, set in beautiful Santorini, Greece. When a Hollywood superstar and a NYC society girl fall in love, sparks fly and secrets are revealed.

Brigit Palmer is thrilled to be on the Greek Island of Santorini. She's here for her wedding to Hollywood heart-throb Blake Crawford, one of America's most eligible bachelors. Brigit's parents have rented a villa, and soon guests will arrive from all over the world for the intimate ceremony.

Brigit is a New York socialite, and she's just given up her position at a Manhattan law firm to run her father's philanthropic foundation. Things are finally falling into place. Love, career, family. Everything is going so well...until she steps into the garden and sees her ex-husband Nathaniel hiding in the rose bushes.

Nathaniel, a failed novelist, announces that Blake sold the rights to the wedding to HELLO! Magazine for two million dollars (donated to charity), and he is the reporter assigned to write the story. Everyone expects Brigit to have her happily ever after, including her mother who taught her how to lead the perfect lifestyle, her younger sister Daisy who impatiently wishes for her own love story, and of course, her fiancé. Things are supposed to work out for them. But when Brigit discovers an unsettling secret about Blake, she questions everything she's ever believed about love, and wonders if she's better off alone.

Told in Anita Hughes' spectacularly descriptive prose, SANTORINI SUNSETS is a story about family bonds, first loves, and the question of when to let go and when to hang on as tight as you can.

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.